Operation Petticoat. (U.)
Directed by Blake Edwards. 1959.
Starring Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill, Gene Evans, Arthur O'Connell. 125 mins. Out on Blu-ray from Eureka Classics on 2nd December.
This wartime submarine comedy-drama in which an all-male crew have to adapt to having a group of women on board isn't a cinematic landmark but any chance to watch Cary Grant in action has to be taken, and if Tony Curtis is along for the ride that doesn't hurt.
Told in flashback by Admiral Grant, this is the story of a submarine that is bombed and sunk by the Japs before it has even had the opportunity to join WWII. Captain Grant can't bear for her to be scrapped without firing a shot in anger so he gets his crew to patch her up. But with parts in short supply, he has to rely on weasel Curtis to steal the necessary parts to get the repairs done. Once completed the boat sets off to make a perilous voyage across the Pacific to Darwin, Australia. Somewhere along the way, they pick up a group of lady soldiers to further fluster Grant.
Curtis is a master at smarmy charm and duplicity but it is Grant that makes it work. Confronted by females at close quarter he goes into his favoured trick of shrinking into himself when the situation around him seems too fractious and half his dialogue is mumbled asides to himself. He's like his own comfort blanket. It's rather wonderful to see him shrivel away as he has to turn sideways to avoid the chesty proximity of Joan O' Brien in a narrow corridor.
If you are of a they-don't-make-'em-like-they-used-to disposition Operation Petticoat is a strong argument: it's a piece of fluff yet at the end of it you feel like you're time has been well spent.
Directed by Blake Edwards. 1959.
Starring Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill, Gene Evans, Arthur O'Connell. 125 mins. Out on Blu-ray from Eureka Classics on 2nd December.
This wartime submarine comedy-drama in which an all-male crew have to adapt to having a group of women on board isn't a cinematic landmark but any chance to watch Cary Grant in action has to be taken, and if Tony Curtis is along for the ride that doesn't hurt.
Told in flashback by Admiral Grant, this is the story of a submarine that is bombed and sunk by the Japs before it has even had the opportunity to join WWII. Captain Grant can't bear for her to be scrapped without firing a shot in anger so he gets his crew to patch her up. But with parts in short supply, he has to rely on weasel Curtis to steal the necessary parts to get the repairs done. Once completed the boat sets off to make a perilous voyage across the Pacific to Darwin, Australia. Somewhere along the way, they pick up a group of lady soldiers to further fluster Grant.
Curtis is a master at smarmy charm and duplicity but it is Grant that makes it work. Confronted by females at close quarter he goes into his favoured trick of shrinking into himself when the situation around him seems too fractious and half his dialogue is mumbled asides to himself. He's like his own comfort blanket. It's rather wonderful to see him shrivel away as he has to turn sideways to avoid the chesty proximity of Joan O' Brien in a narrow corridor.
If you are of a they-don't-make-'em-like-they-used-to disposition Operation Petticoat is a strong argument: it's a piece of fluff yet at the end of it you feel like you're time has been well spent.
